(one star) PG-13, 97 minutes, South Wind 12

In Elektra, the excruciating new Daredevil spin-off starring Jennifer Garner, a ninja cult known as the Hand is out to kidnap the mysterious “Treasure” who will end a centuries-old war between good and evil. If that sounds like the plot of the latest PlayStation 2 bloodbath, don’t get too excited. The film recreates the tedious experience of watching your friends play a video game for 97 minutes.

Garner reprises her role as Elektra Natchios, who, we soon learn, was revived in an ambulance after Bullseye dealt her that seemingly fatal blow at the end of Daredevil. Now working as a hired assassin, Elektra becomes the reluctant guardian of the Hand-hunted Mark Miller (Goran Visnjic) and his daughter, Abby (Kirsten Prout).

As directed by Rob Bowman, who once created some of the most electric episodes of The X-Files, Electra is skimpy on the details, relying on brief flashbacks to sketch in character development and storyline. It’s baffling that Bowman has produced such an empty comic-book adaptation, when the world of comics is so rich with labyrinth plotting, complex characterizations and lurid sexuality.

In fact, Elektra, which was adapted from the acclaimed work of comic creator Frank Miller (Sin City), barely registers as a comic-book movie at all. Garner, who’s surprisingly toneless and unaffected here, dons her red silk costume only twice. The film plays like a generic hired-assassin melodrama, stuffed with second-rate action and set pieces.

Bowman’s one inspired visual involves a member of the Hand named Tattoo, who can send live wolves, eagles and snakes leaping from his flesh. That looks and feels like a comic book. The rest of Elektra needs to go back to the drawing board.